


I Hate It

by spikesgirl58



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 03:19:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1000246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesgirl58/pseuds/spikesgirl58
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Napoleon contemplates the enigma that is his partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Hate It

 

 _I hate it when he’s like this._ The thought comes unbidden to my mind.  It’s times like this that he’s so impossible to read, so hard to fathom.  It’s times like this that I remember when we were first partnered.

 

“Mr. Solo, come in.”

There’s this skinny blond guy sitting at the table, but in our business, appearances can be deceiving.  I already knew who he was.  Waverly had been working with the Soviet government for awhile now, trying to get them to send us an agent.  That would truly make an international agency, one in which all the major governments were represented.  The Soviets had been the last holdout.   I knew Waverly has made concessions, as had the USSR.  They had argued and fought, and in the end, the Old Man triumphed, just as he always did. 

The skinny blond was his reward.  I’d already scanned his file and knew he came with a boatload of credentials.  I’d read Cutter’s report and was annoyed to find out he’d bested some of my long-standing records. 

 _Bastard, wait until I get you on my range_ , I thought as I offered my hand and nearly gasped when this baseball mitt size hand grasped mine.  You can tell a lot from a handshake.  This one was firm, strong, and sure.  There was a lot of strength in that hand and I was glad to regain my freedom from it.

“Mr. Kuryakin, meet your partner.”

“Partner?   But, sir –“ I started and watched Kuryakin’s eyes widen.  I guessed that he never talked back to a superior, never argued his own point of view.

“Yes, Mr. Solo, your partner.  I know of your rather abysmal record with them, but we shall have to hope that Mr. Kuryakin is gifted enough to escape the fate of your past partners.” 

And that’s it, Waverly sends us on our way.  Kuryakin gets this guarded look to him and I knew then and there I would have my work cut out for me.

“ _Некоторая забава, ха_ (Some fun, huh)?”  The look on Kuryakin’s face alone was worth the whole trip up to Waverly’s office.  I’m guessing he **didn’t** see my file.

“ _Вы говорите по-русски?_ (You speak Russian)?”

“ _Удивление_ (Surprise).”  I grinned and then, to my amazement he grinned back. 

Things were better after that.  He kicked my ass in the gym and I out-shot him on the range.  Next week we flipped and I dusted the floor with him and he buried my record.  Waverly had been right.  We were matched, a match.

Except now.  I study him, wondering if he even knows it.  He can read me like a book, but in so many ways, my partner is still a mystery to me. Then he glances back at me and his head tilts. 

 _What?_  He asks without saying a word and I release the breath I’m holding at that point and grin, just a little. 

_Must be why I love him._

 


End file.
